Loading apparatus



Mam}! 1943- T. F. M CARTHY ,314,008

. LOADING APPARATUS Filed June 4, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 JI 'iWF'ig C 4/ "o B 23 9p A'ITORNEY March 16, 1943. 'r'. F. MCCARTHY LOADING AiPARATUS lfiled June 4, 1941 asheets-s'he 2 /////2ln.v

INVENTOR A'ITORNEY March 16, 1943. T. F. MCCARTHY 2,314,008

LOADING APPARATUS Filed June 4, 194l- 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [/4 III!!! 9 v Q I 23 o LL v g 1 i I 1 4 g INVENT R ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1943 STES TENT OFFICE 11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in loading apparatus, and more particularly relates to a novel form of loading apparatus actuated by a shaker conveyor, for loading material, such as coal, from the working face in mines.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a loading device adapted to extend along the working face of a mine and pick up the mined material and load it onto a main conveyer disposed at an angle to said loading device, and forming a drive means for the loading device.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a shaker conveyer loading pan disposed at an angle to the main trough line and driven therefrom and communicating therewith, together with means for driving the loading pan from the main trough line and means for advancing the pan into the material it is desired to load.

Other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan View of a loading device constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in side elevation of the forward part of the conveyer troughline, with certain parts shown in substantially longitudinal section;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4 of Figure 1;

.Figure 5 is a sectional View taken substantially along line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line t% of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 'l-l of Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail plan view of a portion of the advancing mechanism, with certain parts broken away and certain other parts shown in horizontal section, in order to show certain details of the means for advancing the device of my invention; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Referring now to the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, a reciprocating trough section If] on the forward end of a shaker conveyer pan line is transversely pivoted at its forward end on a ball frame H. Said pan line is reciprocably driven by a suitable drive mechanism (not shown) in a usual manner,for conveying material away from the working face of a mine. An inclined extensible trough section I2, having a flared flattened forward end l3 adapted to rest on the ground, is nested within and is mounted for extension from said reciprocating trough section.

The ball frame ll may be of any well known form and is adapted to be held in position on the ground by means of the usual form of screw jacks Hi, 54, adapted to be interposed between said frame and the mine roof. Said ball frame, as herein shown, includes facing races l5, l5 for balls l5, l5. Said races are herein shown as being of a semi-cylindrical formation, 50 arranged as to hold the upper slidable portion of said ball frame from lateral displacement with respect to the stationary portion of said ball frame.

The extensible trough section I2 is detachably secured to the reciprocating trough section ID, for extension or retraction with respect thereto, by means of a pair of C-clamps 24, 24 (see Figure 5). Said C-clamps are herein shown as being secured to the undersides of flanges 25, 25, projecting laterally from the upper ends of the side walls of said reciprocating trough section. Members 26, 26 are threaded in the upper portions of said C-clamps and are adapted to hold flanges 21, 21, projecting laterally from the upper end of the side walls of said extensible trough section, in engagement withvthe flanges 25, 25,

A guide means is provided for the extensible trough section l2, for guiding said extensible trough section against lateral displacement during extension or retraction thereof and during reciprocation of the conveyer. As herein shown, said guide means includes a channel 29 adapted to extend along one rib of the working place, closely adjacent thereto, and supported above the ground on screw jacks 3B, 30 at its ends. The channelled portion of said channel opens in an upward direction and is adapted to be engaged by a roller 3!, depending from an arm 32 projecting laterally from said extensible trough section. Said arm, as herein shown, extends along the bottom of said extensible trough section, and

upwardly along an outer side thereof for a portion, of the height of said side, and outwardly therefrom towards the channel 29 in a horizontal direction (see Figures 1, 2 and 5).

Referring now in particular to certain novel features of the means for picking up mined material from the working face and transferring it onto the main pan line, a corner pan 23 is pivotally connected to and communicates with the forward end of the extensible trough section [2. Said corner pan, as herein shown, is adapted to pivotal pin 31 pivotally connects said connecting member with said bracket. A connecting flange 33 projects outwardly from the opposite end of said retaining wall and forms a means for connecting the opposite end of said corner pan with a bracket 39 projecting from a retaining wall 4| of a loading pan 44, herein shown as extending parallel to the working face and perpendicular to said extensible trough section.

The horizontally swingable controlling arm 34 is herein shown as being vertically pivoted to the forward end of an advancing member 45, herein shown as including an I-beam 48 extending longitudinally of said extensible trough section and slidably guided in supporting and guiding members 41 and 48.

The controlling arm 34 is vertically pivoted between brackets 49 and 50, projecting forwardly of the I-beam 48, on a bushing 5| mounted on said bracket members and having a convex bearing surface adapted to form a bearing for said controlling arm, to permit limited vertical movement of said arm as well as horizontal swinging movement thereof. The opposite end of said controlling arm is transversely pivoted between two spaced pairs of spaced apart supporting ears 52, 52, projecting inwardly of the retaining wall 33.

The outer side of the corner pan 23 includes an advance agitating edge 54 and a side agitating edge 55 joining said advance edge at an angle. Said agitating edges are herein shown as being serrated, to permit said corner. pan to more readily agitate and pick up the loose material from the ground.

A retaining side board 56, having an advance serrated agitating edge 51, is adapted to be detachably secured to the side agitating edge 55 of said corner pan (see Figure 1). Said retaining side board is provided with a side retaining wall 58 and is attached to said corner pan by means of spaced connecting members 60, 68, projecting from the side thereof, opposite from the retaining wall 58 and extending within suitable apertured portions of the side agitating edge 55. Nuts and bolts 6|, BI, may be provided to connect said connecting members to said corner pan (see Figure 7).

The loading pan 44 has a flat bottom adapted to slidably rest on the mine bottom, and has an advance agitating edge I3, opposite from the retaining wall 4!. Said agitating edge is herein shown as being serrated and is adapted to be ad vanced into and agitate the material for loading it onto said loading pan. Said loading pan is pivotally connected to said corner pan by means of the connecting flanges 38 and 39 and is reciprocably guided by a ball frame secured to the rear Side of the retaining wall 4I and projects rearwardly therefrom. Said ball frame, as herein shown, includes an H-shaped member I6 secured to and extending along the retaining wall 4I and having the Web thereof projecting rear.-

wardly from said retaining wall in a horizontal direction. Balls TI, TI engage the upper and lower sides of the web of said H-shaped member and are interposed between said web and the insides of a channelled supporting and guiding member 18, within which said H-shaped member extends. Said channelled supporting and guiding member is mounted on a block 19 supported on a shoe by means of a threaded shaft 8|, for vertical adjustment (see Figure 6). Said block in turn is pivotally connected to the forward end of an advancing member 32, by means of a pivotal pin 83. Said advancing member is herein shown as being an I-beam 84 supported in supporting and guiding members 85 and 86, for longitudinal movement with respect thereto.

The loading pan 44 has a connecting car 81 projecting from the end thereof opposite from thecorner pan 23, and adapted to have a loading pan 88 detachably connected thereto. As herein shown, said connecting ear extends outwardly and forwardly from the retaining wall 4| and is adapted to be overlapped by a connecting ear 89, projecting rearwardly from a retaining wall 90 of the loading pan 88. A plurality of apertures are provided in said connecting members to permit one pan to be hinged with respect to the other, or to perm t both loading pans to be rigidly connected together. The loading pan 88 is of the same construction as the loading pan 44, and is abutted at its end opposite from said loading pan 44 by a ball frame 9I, connected to the end of an advancing member 92. Said advancing member includes an I-beam 93 guided in supporting and guiding members 84 and 95, similar to the supporting and guiding members 41 and 48, and 85 and 88. Said loading pan 83 has a connecting ear 96, forming a means for connecting a loading pan 9! thereto, for extending said loading pan in accordance with the width of the working face, as desired.

The advancing members 45, 82 and 92 are each mounted in a similar manner and are advanced by similar advancing mechanism, so the advancing member 45 only will herein be described in detail. As herein shown, the supporting and guiding member 41 is held in position on the ground by means of spaced apart jacks 98 and 99, interposed between said supporting and guiding member and the mine roof. A roller I80 engages the underside of the web of the I-beam 46 and forms a support for said I-beam. Longitudinally spaced rollers IDI, IOI are adapted to engage the side of said I-beam adjacent the extensible trough section I2 and a roller I02 is adapted to engage the opposite side of said I-beam.

The supporting and guiding member 48 has a horizontal roller I83, which is adapted to be engaged by the underside of the web of the I-beam 46, to'form a rolling support therefor. Said supporting and guiding member is provided with longitudinally spaced vertical rollers I04, I04, adapted to engage the side of said I-beam adjacent said extensible trough section. Said supporting and guiding member is likewise provided with a cylindrical column I05 having a roller M8 journaled thereon and adapted to engage the side of said I-beam opposite from the rollers I04, I84 (see Figure 9), Said column has a threaded shaft I01 threaded therein and having suitable means on the upper end thereof (not shown) for engaging the mine roof,' to hold said supporting and guiding member in position. A jack I08 is. adapted to engage the opposite side of said supporting and guiding member to aid in holding it in position on the ground. A motor I09 is mounted on said column and drives a worm gear H0, journaled coaxially of said column I85, by means of a worm Hi on a longitudinal motor shaft H2. Said worm gear is provided with a depending hub H3, to which is keyed a winding drum H4. A cable H is secured at its forward end to a connecting member H6, projecting outwardly from the forward end of said I-beam. Said cable is trained rearwardly from said connecting member and is wrapped around said winding drum. From said drum it extends to the rear end of said I-beam and is connected to a connecting member HI projecting outwardly from the rear end of said I-beam. Thus, when power is applied to said motor, to start said motor, said I-beam will be moved along said supporting and guiding members, to advance the corner pan 23 and extensible trough section l2 towards the Working face, and when the direction of rotation of said motor is reversed, said corner pan and extensible trough section will be moved in a direction away from the working face.

In a like manner, the I-beam 84'. of the advancing member 82 has a flexible feeding member H8 connected to opposite ends thereof and wrapped around a winding drum 1 IS on the supporting and guiding member 85. A motor I29 is provided to drive said winding drum in a manner similar to which the motor H19 drives the winding drum H4.

The advancing member 92 is likewise advanced by a flexible feeding member l2! wrapped around a Winding drum I22 and secured at its ends to the I-beam 93. Said winding drum is driven by a motor I23 in the same manner that the winding drum H4 is driven from the motor I59. The motors IE9, sec and I23 may be connected together to be operated simultaneously by means of a push-button control, for advancing the corner pan Z3 and extensible trough section l2 with the loading pans M and 88. Said motors may also be operated independently, if desired, to provide a free range of adjustment of said loading pans and corner pan with respect to each other.

Referring now to the use and operation of the device of my invention, when the conveyor pan line and reciprocating trough section ll! been extended into the working place. preferably adjacent one rib thereof, and the extensible trough section i2 and corner @pan 23 have been connected thereto, adjacent the working face, the loading pan 44 may be connected to said corner pan as in Figure 1, and if the working face is long enough, the loading pan 883 and a succession of similar loading pans may be connected to the free end of the loading pan M in parallel relation with respect to the working face and closely adjacent to the working face. Said corner pans and loading pans are put in this position just after the cutting operation, but before the shooting operation. The undercut coal is then shot down onto said corner and loading pans and the conveyer is started. Reciprocable movement of said corner pan and loading pans will cause the loose material to move along said loading pans in a direction towards said corner pan and onto and around said corner pan onto the extensible trough section i2. During this loading operation, the side board 56 is connected to the retreating side of said corner pan, to retain material thereon and to permit material to be progressed onto said extensible trough section by means of said cornerthe room. These operations may be continued until the entire working :place has been loaded out.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore. I do not wish to be construed as limiting my invention to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 1

1. In a face loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer trough line, a loading pan disposed at an angle to said trough line and having an advance edge adapted to slidably engage the ground, means for advancing said loading pan edgewise into the material it is desired to load, and means communicating with said loading pan and trough line for reciprocably driving said loading pan from said trough line, said means also forming a means for conveying material from said loading pan into said trough line and having an advance edge slidably engageable with and adapted to pick up material from the ground.

2. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyor trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven there by, and being mounted for reciprocable movement about a fixed vertical axis, for conveying material around a corner, said corner pan having advance faces disposed at angles with re spect to each other, for picking up material from the ground and transferring it onto said trough line.

3. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers. a shaker conveyor trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable move-ment about a fixed vertical axis, spaced from said corner pan, for causing said corner pan to convey material around a corner, said corner pan having a rectilinear advance edge adapted to rest on and pick up loose material from the ground, upon reciprocation thereof.

4. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyor trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable movement about a fixed vertical axis spaced from said corner pan, said corner pan having an advance edge adapted to rest on the ground and pick up loose material from the ground upon reciprocation thereof, and means connected with said mounting and guided for movement in a rectilinear path, for advancing said mounting and corner |pan into the material it is desired to load during operation of the conveyer.

5. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyer trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocated thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable movement along the ground about a fixed vertical axis spaced from said corner pan, said corner pan having an edge adapted to rest on the ground and pick up loose material from the ground upon reciprocation thereof, and a loading pan disposed at an angle with respect to said trough line and having an advance edge adapted to slidably engage the ground and pick up material therefrom, said loading pan having connection with and being reciprocably driven by said corner pan.

6. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyer trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable movement about a fixed vertical axis spaced from said corner pan, said corner pan having an edge adapted to rest on the ground and pick up loose material from the ground, upon reciprocation thereof, and a sectional loading pan having connection with and being reciprocably driven by said corner pan, said loading pan having an advance edge adapted to slidably engage the ground.

7. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyer trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable movement about a fixed vertical axis spaced from said corner pan, said corner pan having an edge adapted to rest on the ground and pick up loose material from the ground, upon reciprocation thereof, and a sectional loading pan having an advance edge adapted to slidably engage the ground and having connection with and being reciprocably driven by said corner pan, means for advancing said corner pan into the material it is desired to load, and other means for advancing said loading pan upon advancing movement of said corner pan.

8. In a face loading apparatus for shaker conveyers, a shaker conveyer trough line, a corner pan having connection with said trough line at one of its ends and reciprocably driven thereby, a mounting for said corner pan, for mounting said corner pan for reciprocable movement about a fixed vertical axis spaced from said corner pan, said corner pan having edges disposed at angles wtih respect to each other, adapted to rest on the ground and pick up loose material from the ground upon reciprocation thereof, a sectional loading pan having connection with and being reciprocably driven by said corner pan, said loading pan being reciprocably guided along its rear edge and slidably engaging the ground at its forward edge, and means for advancing said loading pan upon the advance of said corner pan.

9. In a face loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer trough line including an extensible trough section, a corner pan on the forward end of said extensible trough section and reciprocably driven thereby, a pivotal mounting for said corner pan, said corner pan having an advance edge adapted to pick up material from the ground, and means guided for rectilinear movement in a fixed path and forming a support for said mounting, for advancing said corner pan and extensible trough section.

10. In a face loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer trough line including an extensible trough 'section, a corner pan on the forward end of said extensible trough section and reciprocably driven thereby, a pivotal mounting for said corner pan, said corner pan having advance edges adapted to rest on the ground and pick up material from the ground, and means guided for rectilinear movement in a fixed path and forming a support for said mounting, for advancing said corner pan and extensible trough section, and other means extending along said extensible trough section for guiding said extensible trough section during advancing movement thereof.

11. In a face loading apparatus, a shaker conveyer trough line including an extensible trough section, a corner pan on the forward end of said extensible trough section and reciprocably driven thereby, a pivotal mounting for said corner pan, said corner pan having advance edges adapted to rest on the ground and disposed at angles with respect to each other for picking up material from. the ground, and a loading pan having connection with and reciprocably driven by said corner pan, for loading material onto said corner pan at an angle with respect to said trough line, means for advancing said corner pan and ex-- tensible trough section, and other means for advancing said loading pan.

TIMOTHY F. MoCARTHY. 

